Tropical Storm Kalmaegi made landfall on September 17 near the border of Vietnam and China and moved inland. Soon after the landfall as a typhoon, NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead and captured an image of the weaker tropical storm.

The MODIS instrument that flies aboard Aqua took a visible picture of Tropical Storm Kalmaegi on Sept. 17 at 03:35 UTC (Sept. 16 at 11:35 p.m. EDT). The image showed the center of the storm in northeastern Vietnam, just south of the China border. Kalmaegi's clouds extended north into southern China and west into Laos.

The Vietnamese National Weather Agency reported that the northern Vietnamese province of Quang Ninh received the brunt of Typhoon Kalmaegi on Tuesday night, Sept. 16. Kalmaegi uprooted trees and damaged crops, in addition to causing damage to homes.

On Sept. 16 at 2100 UTC (5 p.m. EDT), maximum sustained winds were still near 60 knots (69.0 mph/111.1 kph), so Kalmaegi was still a strong tropical storm while moving over land. At that time, the center of the storm was located near 22.3 north latitude and 105.2 east longitude, about 67 nautical miles (77 miles/124 km) north of Hanoi, Vietnam. It was moving to the west-northwest at 20 knots (23.0 mph/37.0 kph).

Kalmaegi is expected to weaken to a depression later on Sept. 17 after it crosses into southern China and moves into the Yunnan Province. The Yunnan Province located in the far southwestern part of China.

NASA's Aqua satellite saw Typhoon Kalmaegi's center near northern Hainan Island, China when it passed overhead on September 16 at 06:00 UTC (2 a.m. EDT). Hours later, the storm crossed the Gulf of Tonkin, the body of water that separates Hainan Island from Vietnam, and was making landfall there at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard Aqua captured a picture of the typhoon that shows the center near the northern end of Hainan Island, China, while the storm stretches over the mainland of southeastern China, east into the South China Sea and covering the Gulf of Tonkin to the west. Microwave satellite imagery showed a rounded storm with tightly curved bands of thunderstorms wrapping into the center. An eye was also seen on microwave imagery, although not seen in a visible picture.

As Kalmaegi was making landfall it was still a typhoon with maximum sustained winds near 70 knots 80.5 mph/129.6 kph). At 1500 UTC (10 a.m. EDT) it was centered near 21.3 north latitude and 107.3 east longitude, just 118 nautical miles east of Hanoi, Vietnam. It was moving to the west-northwest at 21 knots (24.7 mph/34.8 kph) and generating very rough surf and ocean swells up to 22 feet (6.7 meters).

Since the image from NASA's Aqua satellite Kalmaegi moved west through the Gulf of Tonkin and is making landfall today, September 16 in Northern Vietnam, near the border with China.

[image-80]Sept. 15, 2014 - Sees Typhoon Kalmaegi as a Whirlpool of Clouds in the South China Sea

NASA's Aqua satellite observed Typhoon Kalmaegi crossing the South China Sea and a satellite image from the MODIS instrument aboard made it look like a whirlpool of clouds.

On Sunday, September 14, Kalmaegi passed over northern Luzon, Philippines and emerged into the South China Sea. Typhoon Kalmaegi's maximum sustained winds were near 65 knots (75 mph) making it a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale as it moved over the Philippines.

On September 15 at 05:15 UTC (1:15 a.m. EDT) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Typhoon Kalmaegi now fully in the South China Sea. The MODIS image showed tight bands of thunderstorms spiraling into the center from the southern quadrant to the northern quadrant, like a giant whirlpool of clouds. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that a large band of thunderstorms were also building around the western edge of the typhoon.

Maximum sustained winds had increased to 75 knots (86.3 mph/18.9 kph) by 1200 UTC (8 a.m. EDT) on September 15. The center was located near 19.1 east latitude and 113.6 east longitude, about 204 nautical miles south of Hong Kong, and was moving west-northwestward at 17 knots (19.5 mph/31.4 kph). Kalmaegi is generating waves up to 22 feet (6.7 km) in the South China Sea.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast calls for Kalmaegi to graze northern Hainan Island, move through the Gulf of Tonkin and make landfall just north Hanoi late on September 16. Strong Wind signal #3 is currently in effect in Hong Kong.

Tropical Depression 15W intensified during the early morning hours of September 12 and became a tropical storm re-named "Kalmaegi." NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead as the storm intensified.

The MODIS instrument, known as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Kalmaegi approaching the Philippines on Sept. 12 at 4:45 UTC (12:45 a.m. EDT). The image showed tightly-curved bands of thunderstorms over the northern and southern quadrants of the storm that were wrapping into a consolidating low-level center. The consolidation of the center and the banding of thunderstorms are conducive to a strengthening storm, and forecasters expect Kalmaegi to continue strengthening over the next couple of days.

On Friday, September 12 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) Tropical Storm Kalmaegi's maximum sustained winds were near 40 knots (46 mph/74 kph). Kalmaegi was centered near 13.8 north latitude and 130.2 east, about 572 nautical miles (658.2 miles/1,059 km) east of Manila, Philippines. Kalmaegi was moving to the west at 14 knots (16.1 mph/25.9 kph).

Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast Kalmaegi to become a typhoon (same thing as a hurricane, but west of the International Date Line) by September 13. Kalmaegi is forecast to cross Luzon, the northern Philippines, from southeast to northwest on September 14 before entering the South China Sea and heading for another landfall south of Hong Kong.

Tropical Depression 15W is moving through the Northwestern Pacific Ocean and infrared satellite data from NASA took a closer look at the thunderstorms that make up the tropical cyclone. The depression appears to be consolidating and getting better organized.

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Depression 15W on September 11 at 03:53 UTC (Sept. 10 at 11:53 p.m. EDT) and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard captured infrared data on the storm. The infrared data showed very cold temperatures in some of the cloud tops of thunderstorms that make up the tropical cyclone. The infrared data also showed a slowly-consolidating center of circulation.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center that forecasts tropical cyclones in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean also looked at microwave data from the European EUMETSAT METOP satellite. That microwave data showed that there were fragmented bands of thunderstorms in the northern and southern quadrants of the storm, wrapping into the center.

At 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) on September 11, 2014, Tropical Depression 15W (TD15W) had maximum sustained winds near 30 knots (34.5 mph/55.5 kph). It was located near 13.1 north latitude and 137.8 east longitude, about 193 nautical miles (222 miles/357 km) north of Yap./ TD15W has tracked northwestward at 20 knots (23 mph/37 kph) and is expected to continue in that general direction over the next couple of days.

TD15W is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm and later to typhoon strength as it approaches Luzon, the northern Philippines, on October 14. Current forecasts from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center take the storm over the far northern tip of Luzon and into the South China Sea by September 15 as a typhoon.

NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image on September 15 at 05:15 UTC (1:15 a.m. EDT) of Typhoon Kalmaegi (15W) in the South China Sea.

Image Credit:

NASA Goddard MODIS Response Team

Image Token:

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The MODIS instrument that flies aboard Aqua took a visible picture of Tropical Storm Kalmaegi on Sept. 17 at 03:35 UTC. The center of the storm was in northeastern Vietnam, just south of the China border.